Japan volcano continues eruption activities

A volcano in southwestern Japan continued erupting Friday, disrupting transportation services and covering fields in nearby cities with ash.

The latest eruption of Mt. Shinmoe on the Southern Japanese Island of Kyushu occurred around 12:47 p.m. (0347 GMT), spewing heavy clouds of smoke up to more than 1,000 meters, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The volcano, which lies in a mountain range that straddles Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, began erupting on Wednesday for the first time in 52 years.

A local observatory in Kagoshima said the volcanic activity may intensify, warning of large volcanic stones blowing out of the crater.

Volcanic tremors indicating underground magma activities also continued Friday.

Following the Wednesday’s eruption, the first since 1959, the weather agency raised the volcanic alert to level 3 to warn people to clear the areas within 2 km radius of the volcano’s crater as its ash continued.

Volcanic ash also disrupted some train and flight services in the region.